Canadiens News

P.K. being P.K.

Being away from the game for just over a year hasn’t made Gainey any less of a quote - or a father figure to the Canadiens.

Surrounded by microphones for the first time since stepping down as Habs GM last February, the head coach of the Canadiens alumni squad made the most of his time in front the cameras at the 2011 Heritage Classic in Calgary. If players NHL-wide are having a tough time adapting to life with flamboyant P.K. Subban, Gainey is not among those who believes the Habs rookie deserves the bad rap he’s gotten in his first full year in the league.

“P.K. is an excellent and very talented player. Anyone who has gotten to know him sees that his personality is outgoing, overflowing but it just needs to be tempered with full maturity,” reasoned Gainey of the player he drafted 43rd overall in 2007. “I think he should have fun and he should just play his game and people who have a problem with that should just shut up and play against him - just keep their mouths shut and play.

“He doesn’t have a big, tough guy playing beside him to look after him, he looks after himself,” affirmed Gainey. “Montreal is lucky to have him and the NHL is lucky to have him. P.K will be really good player for a long time.”